Australia's record meth bust: Why do drug smugglers target Geraldton?

The van that was intercepted by the AFP in Geraldton allegedly contained a record 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine.

Supplied: AFP

When 182 kilograms of ice were seized after being smuggled in a Chinese trawler and dropped off at a remote beach near the WA town of Geraldton last year, it was the largest and most complex drug bust the area had ever witnessed.

Asylum seeker boats had previously made their way to the Midwest coastal city, 400 kilometres north of Perth, but this was the first time an international drug-running syndicate on this scale had been uncovered.

Eighteen months passed, and it could have been seen as a one-off.

But Friday's revelation law enforcement agencies had made the largest methamphetamine bust in Australia's history at the port of Geraldton — a record 1.2 tonnes worth $1.04 billion — blew that out of the water.